Italy-based holding company Exor SpA, which controls carmaker Fiat SpA, will continue to simplify its 6.8 billion euro ($8.9 billion) investment portfolio in 2012. Exor, which is controlled by Italy's Agnelli family, wants "to reduce the number of small investments in order to concentrate on a few larger ones," said Chairman and Chief Executive John Elkann in a letter to shareholders on Wednesday.While the company wants to streamline its portfolio, small investments such as its stake in The Economist magazine and in Almacantar, a property company, can make good business sense, said Elkann, who is also chairman of Fiat, which controls U.S. automaker Chrysler.Exor's revenue diversification had reached "an advanced stage" in 2011, Elkann said. "In 2011, 62 percent of the combined revenues of Exor's largest investments were generated outside of Europe."Exor's outlook for 2012 is more positive than expected at the end of 2011, Elkann said. "While such a positive development is welcome, I consider it appropriate to remain cautious, particularly while consumption data, especially in the E.U., remains weak," he added.
Itau Unibanco Holding SA is a Brazil-based holding active in the banking sector. Shares of ITUB traded higher by 1.35% or $0.235/share to $17.58. In the past year, the shares have traded as low as $14.47 and as high as $24.72. On average, 12303000 shares of ITUB exchange hands on a given day and today's volume is recorded at 1678573.
Source
